My program concluded this past week. And just in time, we got the robot to follow a thin black line and turn around when it reached the end. With a simple input of "Red" or "Green", we can easily direct the platform to one of two directions. The robotics here lays the foundation for what will eventually be a "bacterial brain" interface with a larger robot.
You're probably wondering, "This took them ten weeks? Really?" With no prior knowledge of electronics or programming, we put this thing together with no instructional booklet. So it's a little like putting together a giant Lego set without the instruction manual, and in our case, the programmed code is not visible. In these ten weeks, we learned so much more by messing around with it ourselves instead of immediately going for help, which we never did.
When we refined our program and redid the wiring scheme many times, frustration ensued. But when we tested it and saw the movement as in the video above:
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| And then we went suit shopping. At the toilet store. |
My fellow Scieneer Sean Hardy and I presented these findings and our future plans at the VT Undergraduate Research Symposium on July 31st.
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Heading into the VT Inn Ballroom to present. Free food had nothing to do with it.
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Sean and I presenting our poster. Our title turned a lot of heads, and students/faculty were wowed by our project and where we're going with it.
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The Steppin' Out Festival on August 2/3. Downtown had the largest turnout I'd ever seen, despite the mostly-deserted campus.
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| High schoolers and old people abound here. In other words, a constant reminder that you're still single. |
This program opened my eyes to what research really is. For some, it can be a more concrete series of tasks, such as injecting mice or analyzing data trends. Or in our case, you get a bunch of parts and only an idea of the final product in your head. This project gave me a greater appreciation for that kind of open, out-of-the-box thinking, and I plan on continuing it in the Fall and Spring.
I'm back in Richmond for two weeks until I return on the 18th for MV Band Camp prep. I'll be in Atlanta on the 31st for the kickoff against Alabama. I'll also continue to update on blog-worthy events and my research progress.
Until next time,
Ben
